India’s challenge in Super Eight, Abhishek’s form and Tilak’s slow strike rate are raising concerns.

Tezzbuzz Desk- In the T20 World Cup 2026, the Indian team topped the points table by winning all four matches in the group stage, but the team’s performance has not been satisfactory so far. The team struggled on both the batting and fielding fronts, while the bowling performed relatively satisfactorily. Now the Super Eight stage is about to begin and India will face South Africa on Sunday, where the real test will begin.

In the absence of Sanju Samson in the T20 series against New Zealand, the team management replaced him with Ishan Kishan as the partner of Abhishek Sharma. However, on slow wickets, the pair of left-handed batsmen proved weak against the spinners. India’s top order struggled against spin on slow pitches. Tilak Verma, who came to bat at number three, is also left-handed, and so far his performance has not been up to expectations.

Abhishek Sharma has not even opened his account in this World Cup yet, while Tilak Verma has scored 106 runs in four matches at a strike rate of 120.45, which is lower than his career strike rate of 141.8. To perform better against teams like South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe in the Super Eight, both the players will have to play big innings.

India scored big in the series against New Zealand, but from the first match of the World Cup, co-host India had to face slow pitches. Stroke players like Abhishek and Tilak Verma found it difficult to maintain coordination on such pitches. On slow pitches, the batsmen will have to adjust as Ishan Kishan showed by scoring 77 runs against Pakistan and Suryakumar Yadav scored 84 runs against America.

During practice on Friday, all eyes were on Abhishek Sharma. He had a long discussion with coach Gautam Gambhir and practiced catching and spin bowling. Bowling coach Morne Morkel said that there was no specific discussion on Abhishek, but he is expected to perform well. He said that the pitches are slow, but the curators are trying to provide the best conditions.

The bowling of the Indian team was excellent in the group round. Suryakumar Yadav took the responsibility against America, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya against Namibia, Ishan against Pakistan and Shivam Dubey took the responsibility against Netherlands. In the T20 format, the work can be done with one player taking the lead, but in the Super Eight, the team will need the contribution of all the players.

No risk can be taken now for India in the Super Eights. The Suryakumar Yadav-led team will have to learn from the mistakes of the group stage and deliver a balanced performance to retain the title.